System and method for continuous strand fiberglass media processing

ABSTRACT

There is provided a system and method for manufacturing continuous strand fiberglass of progressive density with varying skins. Glass media is melted into molten glass within a temperature controlled melter, the molten glass exits the melter through orifices of a bushing plate, which is oriented 6 degrees relative to the axis of a rotating drum. A rotating drum receives the molten glass exiting the bushing plate, and resin and water are applied. The fiberglass media is fed through rollers before it enters a curing oven.

This disclosure relates to a system, method and apparatus ofmanufacturing fiberglass and more particularly relates to an improvedprocess of manufacturing fiberglass and an apparatus for improving thequality, efficiency and cost of manufacturing fiberglass.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This disclosure in particular relates to an improved selection of rawmaterials input, involving the use of recycled cullet screened andvibrated, as well as a specially mixed and controlled resin with theaddition of aqueous solutions and an improved apparatus for melting thefiberglass, sometimes referred to as the melter furnace, the plate(bushing) with perforations (orifices) for exiting the molten fiberglassfrom the melter, a temperature control assembly controlling temperatureof the Urea Formaldehyde (UF) Resin and filament strands exiting theorifices of the bushing plate, in combination with an aqueous solutionspray through a spray assembly and binder(s) through a binder sprayassembly, which sprays various additives and control chemicals onto thefiberglass to adjust its properties as it winds onto a rotating drum,and the ability to spray various aqueous solutions onto the rotatingdrum in a specified manner covering the fiberglass mat deposited andvarying configurations of roller assemblies utilizing portable deviceswith catch basins that control water spray, and with various chemicalsand control systems (software and computers) provides for increasedefficiency, quality, production capacity and in particular the creationof progressive densities of a fiberglass mat manufactured from afilament strand manufacturing process.

Subsequent improvements and variations of the Modigliani process havebeen made and are known in the art. Modigliani and progeny generallyinvolve a melting furnace feeding molten glass which discharges fineglass fibers. In Modigliani and progeny, during the deposition of thefibers on the rotating drum, solutions are applied to the surface of theglass media mat. Technology for making glass fiber strands is known inthe art. Such technology is described in several patents issued toModigliani, namely, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,546,230; 2,609,320 and 2,964,439and several mentioned thereafter. Modigliani and progeny have donelittle to improve upon the efficiency of the manufacturing methods andapparatus either through new control methods or through process changesand nothing to adjust densities of fiberglass states to improve bothsurface and bulk characteristics of the fiberglass as deposited.

The present disclosure relates to improvements to the Modigliani patentsand progeny that substantially change the initial conditions andultimate quality of the fiberglass mat, improving upon the manufacturingprocess, providing for a different machine and process combination andcreating the capability of providing progressive density fiberglass.

It would be advantageous to provide a system of manufacturing fiberglassthat increases efficiency in production.

It would also be advantageous to provide a method of manufacturingfiberglass that utilizes a specific orientation of the bushing plate tothe drum.

It would further be advantageous to decrease weight variations of thefiberglass mat by using load cells to increase the accuracy of themeasurement of the weight variations.

It would further be advantageous to adjust the skin of the fiberglassmedia by passing the fiberglass media through a roller assembly havingeither straight or bowed rollers or in some embodiments both with adefined angular rotation that provide differential pressure across themat reducing weight variations across the media and providing for moreconsistent water content improving the quality of the top and bottomskins (surfaces) of the fiberglass media as well as creating progressivedensities substantially improving the bulk and surface characteristicsof the fiberglass.

It would further be advantageous to utilize load cells to decreaseweight variations of the mat and increase the accuracy of the finalweight which improves product quality and increase accuracy to + or −5%.

It would also be advantageous to apply water by spraying it onto a flatsurface of the fiberglass mat immediately prior to curing which resultsin a more consistent application of water resulting in higher qualityskins and/or which in combination with the use of the bowed rollersresults in the production of higher quality skins.

It would further be advantageous to apply water in combination with thebinder as the binder is applied to the fiberglass on the rotating drum.

It would also be advantageous to apply water in combination with thebinder for controlling the moisture content range to 36%-40% content byweight.

It would further be advantageous to control binder temperature range to70 degrees Fahrenheit plus or minus 10% of the 70 degrees.

It would also be advantageous to control densities of the fiberglass matin order to provide progressive densities of a fiberglass mat.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE

In accordance with the present disclosure, there is provided, in oneaspect, a method of manufacturing continuous strand fiberglass filamentshaving the steps of selecting raw material inputs utilizing a variety ofselect methods, including controlling fines, and turbidity of the glasscullet and the temperature of the resin and aqueous solutions, selectingand controlling through a temperature control system and a bushingcooling loop assembly and a PH monitoring system a selection of ureaformaldehyde resins in some applications and styrene in otherapplications and the conditioning of aqueous solutions and melting glassinto a molten state within a temperature-controlled melting furnace,with a feed-back set point for controlling level of the molten glasswith molten glass filaments instead of fibers exiting the furnacethrough the orifices of a bushing plate at a specific relative angle andapplying the aforementioned aqueous solutions onto the filaments exitingthe orifices of the bushing plate onto a rotating drum at a specifiedwidth as the melting furnace traverses the longitudinal axis of therotating drum at a specified angle of traverse and then to a let-offtable and from the let-off table, through a series of Upper and LowerSkin Control Assemblies with both bowed and straight rollers in varyingconfigurations with catch basins and integrally mounted pumpscontrolling moisture and together with aqueous sprays controllingprogressive density of the fiberglass and a variety of skins and to thecuring oven with specified temperature zones and dual speed chaincontrol of speed through the curing oven and onto an accumulator andwind-up machine all under control of a positive feedback quality loopcontrol system all providing the machine, processes and devices tomanufacture progressive density fiberglass and progressive densityfiberglass mats.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a side cutaway view of a melting furnace with natural gasflame and a glass feeder hopper mechanism.

FIG. 2 shows a front cutaway view of a bushing plate and a cooling loopmounted below the glass melting furnace.

FIG. 3 shows a bottom view of a hole placement configuration on afurnace bushing plate.

FIG. 4 shows a top view of an uninstalled cooling loop.

FIG. 5 shows a top view of a glass melting furnace angled above arotating drum.

FIG. 6 shows a side cutaway view of a rotating drum beneath a furnacefeeding strands of glass onto the drum.

FIG. 7 shows an end view of a rotating drum illustrating a recess in thedrum used to facilitate cutting completed fiberglass mat from the drum.

FIG. 8 shows an end view of straight rollers and their associated waterspray nozzles with an arrow indicating the direction of travel offiberglass.

FIG. 9 shows an end view of bowed rollers and associated water sprayswith an arrow indicating the direction of travel of fiberglass.

FIG. 10 shows a top view of straight rollers.

FIG. 11 shows a side cutaway view of a curing oven with an arrowindicating the direction of travel of fiberglass.

FIG. 12 shows a side cutaway view of let-off table showing gas burnersbelow travel of fiberglass and radiant heaters above fiberglass travelwith arrow indicating direction of travel of fiberglass.

FIG. 13 shows a close up top view of holes in a furnace bushing plate.

FIG. 14 shows a close up side cutaway view of holes in a furnace bushingplate.

FIG. 15 shows a side view of an uninstalled cooling loop.

FIG. 16 shows a side view of a load cell and a bearing of a rotatingdrum.

FIG. 17 shows a top view of bowed rollers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A complete understanding of the present invention may be obtained byreference to the accompanying drawings when considered in conjunctionwith the following description.

FIG. 1 is a side view of the glass hopper, stationary glass feeder, andvibrator, secondary chute into the traversing melter furnace, showingthe traverse cart, the track and the set point controller. This figuredetails the relative position of the various main components of themelting furnace and its traverse mechanism, with glass hopper (10),glass feeder (12), vibrator (14), to a secondary chute (16), a meltfurnace (18) a flame temperature sensor (20) and a traverse cart (22)for traversing the melter furnace with track (24) and set pointcontroller (26) for feeding more glass in the melter furnace.

FIG. 2 is a side detail view of a bushing plate (28) demonstrating itsposition relative to the melter furnace (18), while portraying thedimensional position of the cooling coils (32) that transport the waterused to control temperature of the fibers as they exit the bushing plate(28) through the orifices (perforations in the bushing plate throughwhich the fibers exit). The shields (34) are used to prevent ambient andair flow from causing the filaments to collide as they exit the bushingplate orifices.

FIG. 3 is a series of details for the orifices (36), the orifice tips(38) and their patterns with a 0.500 space between each set of patternsas a bottom view, and the finer detail of the orifice patterns (40).

FIG. 4 is a drawing with detail of the bushing cooling loop assemblywith a top view, a side view and an end view. The top view demonstratesthe race track loop assembly that is a 3 inch interior width and 15inches in length for the inside diameter. The side view details coolingcoils (32) that are composed of a single cooper air coil that is ⅜ inchdiameter for air entry to prevent clogging of the water coils withparticulates combined with a series of ¼ inch copper tubing or coilswrapped adjacent to and looped back one on the other as portrayed in theside view. There is an air inlet, a water inlet and a water outlet. Theend view cutaway inverted explains the function of the coils quite well.The inverted angle is 80 degrees typically with B and A shown to theside. A is a ¼ inch copper refrigeration tubing, 7 coils silversoldered. B is ⅜ inch copper tubing-perforated (perfed) with side airholes 1/32 inch directed at the Furnace Inconel Bushing Plate.

FIG. 5 demonstrates a Traverse of a Melt Furnace indicating the furnacetraverse (44) along the Traverse Track (46) with a tilt of a 6 degreeangle (30). An outline of the drum can be seen below the angle oftraverse of the melt furnace and the approximate positioning of thetraverse track over the rotating drum as well as the approximate droplocation of the exiting filaments from the underside of the traversefurnace.

FIG. 6 portrays a side view of the rotating drum with its elongated axisand enlarged circumference which are both essential to the highefficiency production of fiberglass in an efficient manner. FIG. 6 alsoshows a water spray nozzle (50) and a resin spray nozzle (48), bothattached to the traverse as shown. The hollow steel drum rotates againstthe falling filaments as shown with the falling filaments alignedtangentially to the drum so the filaments just touch the drum at apoint. FIG. 6 demonstrates the relative position of the falling fibersexiting the bushing plate and falling onto the rotating drum, as well asdemonstrating the position of the binder spray head and aqueoussolutions spray head relative to the traversing melter and the rotatingdrum including a secondary arm that sprays at least a 4 inch spray nogreater than the width of the fiberglass exiting the bushing plate.

FIG. 7 shows a right side view of the load cell assembly (along with itsstrain gauge) relative to its position with respect to the hollowrotating drum. FIG. 7 portrays the load cell (52) and the rotatingdrum's V-notch for cutting filament mat away from the drum, based on thefilaments assigned the letter A the drum assigned the letter C and theresin assigned the letter B as shown then the formula is A+B−C=Readoutfrom the D as shown in the detail which is the distance measured inweight of the filaments+the resin−the drum=the distance of travel of theload cell as evidenced by D. Additionally the drum is V-notched (54)which allows the operator to cut longitudinally across the width of thedrum to remove the mat of an appropriate length from the drum.

FIG. 8 is a side view of a media upper and lower skin control assemblycomprising a high pressure dual pumping system. Each of pumps (64)provides water sprays either on the rollers or the media. Pump A (shownon the right) provides water to water sprayers (56) on the top side ofthe top roller, and Pump B (shown on the left) provides water to theunderside of bottom rollers (60). Each adjustable spray head assemblycomprises multiple spray heads. Top rollers (58) are adjustable andseparately driven with respect to bottom coasting rollers (62),controlling the skin of the fiberglass mat created and allowing forprogressive density creation of fiberglass mat. Bottom rollers (60) areadjustable and separately driven from the top rollers (58).

FIG. 9 portrays the side view showing the independently driven (from theoven) interconnected portable bowed roller assembly used to maintainwidth expansion consisting of a straight roller (66) that first engagesthe mat to three bowed rollers (68) that engage the mat. The fiberglassmat first slides over the first roller (straight) 66 in the direction ofmovement of the mat in the clockwise direction over the top of theroller and then under the second roller (first in a series of bowedrollers (68)), which is rotating in a counterclockwise direction, andthen over the top of the third roller, which is bowed and rotating in aclockwise direction, and then under the fourth roller, which is bowedand rotating in a counterclockwise direction. The movement of the matover and under the rollers provides for linear expansion of the mat. Thethree bowed rollers (68) are sprayed by water fog nozzle assembly (70)across the span of the bowed rollers (68) both above and below. Attachedto and integrated with the portable Bowed Roller Assembly is a catchbasin (72) that captures and reuses the water fogged onto the rollersfrom above and below. FIG. 17 is a top view of the roller assembly shownin FIG. 9.

FIG. 10 is a top view of roller assembly which is comprised of a seriesof straight rollers (66) driven separately by a top roller drive (74)and a bottom or lower roller drive (76), multiple spray heads (78)traverse across the roller assembly to spray continuously across theentire width of the roller assembly. Aqueous solutions are sprayed froma pumping system having two pumps, an A and a B pump. The lower framing,bearings, catch basins (72) shown in prior FIG. 9 and mixers have beenremoved for clarity but are construed to be a part of this system.

FIG. 11 is a side view cutaway of the curing oven (88) and the conveyorassembly with controller and temperature zones (84) of the oven. The matis fed into the curing oven through a conveyor system with an upperchain conveyor (82) and lower chain conveyor (80). The upper conveyormoves at a different speed relative to the lower chain conveyor (80) tokeep the mat from bunching and prevent stretching of the mat. Theprocess parameters are controlled by a controller with a computer,software, temperature sensors and individually heated zones both aboveand below the conveyor.

FIG. 12 is a side cutaway view of let-off table showing gas burners (92)below travel of fiberglass and radiant heaters (90) above fiberglasstravel with arrow indicating direction of travel of fiberglass.

FIG. 13 is a close-up top view of orifice tips (38) in furnace bushingplate.

FIG. 14 is a close-up side cutaway view of orifices (36) in furnacebushing plate.

FIG. 15 is a side view of cooling coils (32) that are composed of asingle copper air coil (42) that is ⅜ inch diameter for air entrycombined with a series of ¼ inch copper tubing cooling water coilswrapped adjacent to and looped back one on the other as portrayed in theside view.

FIG. 16 is a side view of strain gauge load cell (52) and bearing ofrotating drum. The measurement of load cell is based on a readout fromthe load cell that is based on the weight of the filaments plus theweight of the resin minus the weight of the drum to achieve an accuratereflection of the weight based on the travel of the load cell caused bythe applied filaments creating the mat resulting in both a weightmeasurement and an approximate density determination.

Raw material inputs are comprised of recycled glass cullet, ureaformaldehyde (UF) resin or styrene resin and water. The recycled glasscullet is sorted for purity and clarity or turbidity which is screenedto achieve maximum dimensions of ½ inch to 1¼ inches in size. The glasscullet is dropped from a glass hopper (10) on to a stationary glassfeeder (12) that is then vibrated using a vibrator (14) to remove anyfines or excess glass dust. The vibrated glass cullet is then droppedfrom the glass feeder (12) to a secondary chute (16) that feeds thefurnace (18).

Additionally, urea formaldehyde resin as used in filter applications ismixed with a specific additive under shear mixer conditions. The ureaformaldehyde (UF) resin is maintained at controlled temperatures around72 degrees Fahrenheit by cooling and heating coils in the storage anddispensing tanks. The UF resin is agitated in both the storage anddispensing tanks with PH monitored continually and solids contentmonitored for solids rise above specified acceptable limits.Additionally the binder temperature is controlled with a reservoir as adepository for temperature controlled binder and attached to the furnaceare spraying arms one with the ability to spray binder, binder species,and aqueous solutions on the fiberglass, with a secondary sprayingassembly capable of spraying aqueous solutions on a rotating drum and onroller assemblies. The secondary arm sprays aqueous solutions in aspecified width at least (4 inches) but no greater than the width of theswath of fiberglass exiting the bushing plate.

In some instances styrene resin for composite applications is mixed withother additives such as polybutene by a shear mixer and temperaturecontrolled with heating and cooling coils in the storage tank. PH ismonitored and the tank is continually agitated to ensure complete mixingof the styrene without heat or cool spots occurring in both the storageand dispensing tanks. Styrene percent solids are continually monitored.

Water is conditioned soft and in some cases the water is mixed with theresin creating an aqueous solution or the water which may be sprayedonto resin as it is applied to a rotating drum to control the moisturelevel of the resulting fiberglass mat formed. Additionally, the water isutilized as a spray, fog or rolled onto the expanded fiberglass matbefore it enters a curing process.

Glass Melting Furnace (18)

The glass melting process involves the use of natural gas and combustionair mixtures controlled by a feedback loop from a flame temperaturesensor (20). The air/fuel mixture can be controlled manually to theburner assembly, if necessary and for system start-up and shut-off. Themolten glass level is controlled to maintain a minimum level in thefurnace (18) based on a set point controller (26). Once the glass levelminimum is reached more glass is automatically fed to the furnace by theglass hopper (10) to a vibrator (14) mounted under the stationary glassfeeder (12) all of which is controlled by a feedback loop from the setpoint controller (26). The furnace (18) is mounted on a traverse cart(22) with track (24).

Bushing Plate (28), Orifices (36), Orifice Tip (38) and Cooling Coils(32)

Molten glass exits the furnace (18) through an Inconel® bushing plate(28) in one of various bushing plate configurations, in continuousstrand filaments of approximately 25 to 35 microns in diameter,depending on the final product specifications desired, one or the otherbushing plate configuration is used as specified in various customclient configurations. Cooling is accomplished through cooling coils(32) and controller with cooling coils of a 3 inch width and 15 incheslong mounted directly under the Inconel bushing plate (28) in a racetrack pattern. Additionally design changes are accomplished throughvarying bushing plate (28) designs and further orienting the bushingplate (28) so that the bushing plate (28) is at a near perpendicularangle to the length of the drum at a minimum 6 degrees relative (30),along the longitudinal axis of the drum. Shields (34) are mounted underthe bushing plate (28) at either side to prevent room air flow fromdisrupting the fall of continuous strands through the Inconel bushingplate (18) to the drum below.

Bushing plate (28) orifices (36) have an orifice size measured in adrill size and machine bit referred to as a 27 drill which is thefinest. The tip (38) with the largest size of an orifice is the 10drill, in this aspect, the orifice tip (38) sizes have alternating holesizes which are at least a 7 row plate, with another control at the 8-9row plate orifice patterns (40) of orifices (36), width of the row oforifice tip (38) holes as being in the range of 7-10 row, with the 7 rowplate being 298 holes and the largest being a 10 row plate which is 425tip hole. Patterns are such as to leave a space (86) of 0.500″ betweentwo sections of bushing plate (28) orifice tips (38) creating orificetip patterns (40). The filaments exiting from the orifices of thebushing plate (28) wrap onto the rotating drum at a 6 degree relativeangle (30) to the longitudinally and circumferentially enlarged drumproviding for more efficient operation and control. The bushing plate(28) forces the exiting molten fiberglass filament onto the drum at arelative angle of 6 degrees (30) plus or minus 1 degree fromperpendicular to the axis of the drum altering the relative position ofthe exiting filament to the rotating drum and the orientation of theorifices based on the configuration and orientation of the bushing plate(28) relative to the drum.

Immediately below the bushing plate (28) and attached to the furnace(18) are cooling coils (32) and copper air coil (42) that together withpressure controls for monitoring clogging and temperature and waterpressure control make up the bushing cooling loop assembly that coolsthe continuous filament strands to a temperature that is cool to thetouch, slightly above ambient temperature. The cooling water is suppliedeither by chiller or from constant temperature water well. Pressuresensors detect if the cooling water loop is becoming clogged byparticulates. Temperature sensors provide feedback to the chiller tocontrol temperatures of the bushing cooling loop assembly. The bushingcooling loop assembly consists of 7 quarter inch copper tubes wrappedaround the bottom of the furnace (18) against the bushing plate (28).These cooling coils (32) are looped in a racetrack (rectangular) patternwithin 1 inch of the bushing plate (28). The bushing cooling loopassembly executes a loop that is 15 inches long and 3 inches wide at itsinside diameter. One coil is an air coil that is ⅜ inch copper tubingwith an air/water in and water exiting the bushing cooling loop assemblyat an 80 degree angle. The shields (34) previously mentioned are placedaround the area just below the bushing plate (28) and attached to thefurnace (18) to control the ambient air movement and air movementgenerated by the rotating drum or by the traverse of the furnace on thetraverse cart (22). The shields (34) prevent excessive air movement fromcausing the glass continuous strand filaments to collide. The bushingcooling loop assembly cools the fibers as they exit orifice tips (38) ofthe orifices of the bushing plate (28). Cooling is accomplished bypumping water through the loops such that the running water cools thefilaments in a specified timeframe bringing those filaments to roomtemperature.

Rotating Drums and Traversing Melt Furnace

The rotating drums are wrapped in plastic sheeting to enable the mat'sremoval from the drum. Once the plastic sheeting wraps the drum, a thinapplication of mold release oil is applied to the surface of thesheeting. As the filament strands fall from the bushing plate (28) anoperator assists the process in attaching the falling filament strandsof molten glass to the plastic sheeting wrapped drum. Additionally, theoperator may assist in reattaching filaments that have detached from therotating drum and reattach as necessary. The rotating drum iscircumferentially and longitudinally superior in size with a substantialand sustainable control of the rotation of the drum to control the speedof layering of fiberglass upon the rotating drum.

The furnace traverse (44) of the drum's length repeatedly following aspecified longitudinal continuous path covering the drum with a layer offiberglass along the traverse track (46) with the traverse cart (22). Inone embodiment, as the glass is applied to the drum, a resin mixturesprayed from a resin arm attached to the traverse and water sprayed froma water arm attached to the traverse are sprayed onto the fiberglass onthe drum by resin spray nozzle (48) and water spray nozzle (50) situatedand aimed at the back of the drum. The spray nozzles are linked to themovement of the furnace traverse and the spray nozzles traverse the backof the drum in synchronicity with the traverse of the furnace (44)across the drum at least 4 inches in width but in no case wider than thewidth of the falling fiberglass filaments in one embodiment no more than4 inches in width. Physical elements of the process are controlled by acomputer machine and software program controlling the number and speedof furnace movement or furnace traverse (44), rotation speed of thedrum, and application of resin spray mixture from resin spray nozzle(48) and/or water spray mixture from water spray nozzle (50). Thecomputer's control of these parameters through a software program andcontrol of these variables and operating parameters permits the mat tohave progressive densities when expanded. As the filaments are spun ontothe rotating drum and the melt furnace or furnace traversing (44)following the traverse track (46) and its relative position in relationto the drum below then the drum can be sprayed with an aqueous solutionfrom a first arm attached to the traverse of the furnace as the furnacetraverses the drum or a first arm or a second arm, mounted on thetraverse that sprays binder (or binder species composed essentially ofbinder, chemical additives, and water or aqueous solutions) onto theback side of the rotating drum as the furnace traverse the drumfollowing the traverse track (46). Temperature control system of thebinder in the reservoir is accomplished to within + or −10% of 70degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature controlled binder or combinationbinder species may be sprayed onto the rotating drum in tandem with anaqueous solution.

The mat article is complete when a total weight measurement of glassfiber, resin mixture and water has reached the weight prescribed in theformulation of each specific product. Attainment of the product specificweight can be controlled in some cases by load cells (52) or bycalculating the time necessary for that product specific weight to beattained. The formula of the load cell weight control is achieved bytaking the weight of the fibers on the drum adding the weight of theresin and subtracting the weight of the drum. When the mat reaches itsproduct specific weight, the spinning of the drum is complete and theoperator actuates the braking mechanism on the drum drive. The drum hasa V-shaped slot (54) that runs longitudinally parallel to the axis ofrotation of the drum from one end to other across the width of the drumand thereby across the width of the continuous strand filament matlaying thereupon. The operator uses this slot to cut the mat from thedrum. At this point the mat is promptly removed from the drum, laid on aflat surface covered with plastic sheeting; from there the mat is rolledonto a steel bar in a direction perpendicular to the axis of rotation ofthe drum. The weight of the mat is confirmed and recorded by weighingthe rolled mat and calculating the net rolled mat weight.

Let-Off Table: Entry and Exit

The rolled mat is transported to the Let-Off Table which is a slowmoving conveyor slightly larger than the unrolled mat. The mat isunrolled onto the moving conveyor and the top layer of plastic isremoved. The unrolling process requires that the mat be unrolled with nocreases or folds, straight with its edges equidistant from the sides ofthe conveyor; otherwise the unrolled mat will not expand properly. Theresin coating the glass strands is heated from above and below to softenthe resin. As the leading edge of the unrolled mat emerges beyond theexit edge of the conveyor, the leading edge of the mat is guided throughwater spray rollers and onto a bottom conveyor chain of the curing ovenusing a guide rope attached to the leading edge. The curing oven'sbottom conveyor chain pulls the mat into the oven. As each mat exits theLet-Off table it is attached with ropes to the end of the mat ahead ofit so successive mats are continuously drawn into the curing oven. Theropes are used to connect mats because ropes do not damage the slitterknives used later in the process.

Media Upper and Lower Skin Control Assembly with Water Spray for Bowedand Straight Rollers

The water sprayers (56) spray water onto the top rollers (58) and bottomrollers (60) of skin control assembly, thereby controlling operatingparameters creating various densities of the top and bottom surfaceskinning or skins and to a certain extent the stiffness of the finalfinished fiberglass product. As the mat is drawn into the oven, it firstpasses through the top rollers (58) and bottom rollers (60) which have aseries of metal rollers with water sprays (56) associated with them. Forsome products straight rollers (66) are used with upper (74) and lower(76) separately controlled drive assemblies and for other productscurved or bowed (68) rollers are used. For some products water spray isfogged directly onto the expanded mat by water fog assembly (70) as itpasses over or under the rollers. For other products water spray isfogged onto the top or the bottom of the rollers so that water isindirectly applied to the top or the bottom of the mat through firstbeing applied to the top or the bottom of the rollers. The watersprayers (56) are part of the Media Upper and Lower Skin ControlAssembly and are mounted on rolling casters so various combinations andembodiments of the water sprayers (56) of the Media Upper and Lower SkinControl Assembly (65) can be inserted into the process as needed.Additionally, each media upper and lower skin control assembly (65) mayhave a separate integrated catch basin (72) attached to capture excesswater from the spraying process.

Curing Oven (88) and Oven Conveyor Assembly (80 and 82), Multi-zonedInterior (84) and Controller

The operating parameters of the oven determine the weight per squarefoot, the loft, the compressive strength and to some extent thestiffness of the final product and are controlled by a curing ovencontroller with computer and software. The speed of upper rollers ofconveyor chain (82) is regulated according to a precise formula at aspeed slightly different than the speed of oven's lower (80) rollers ofthe conveyor chain which controls the speed of the expanded mat as ittravels through the interior (84) of the oven on the conveyor chain. Theinterior (84) of the oven is multi-temperature zoned. The shut-offswitch in the controller for the rollers (80, 82) is electrically linkedand integrated with the oven's conveyors so that both start-up andshut-down simultaneously at the controller.

As the mat is drawn into interior (84) of the oven, operators expand themat to the proper width for the product being made. The upper rollers ofthe conveyor chain (82) of the curing oven are set to a specific heightfor each product to set the loft (i.e. the height) of the expandedfiberglass.

The temperatures of the multiple heating zones in the curing oveninterior (84) are set by oven operation to an appropriate temperaturefor the product being cured at the controller.

Accumulator and Windup Machine

As the cured mat exits the oven, it is drawn into a set of accumulatorrollers, initially by the rope threaded through the accumulator assemblyby operator assist and onto the windup section where it is wound onto acardboard core. Immediately after exiting the oven, the expanded matpasses over a roller where it is cut by circular roller knives, cuttingoff the uneven outside edges and slitting the mat into rolls of theprescribed product dependent widths. After the rolls reach theappropriate length on the windup cores, the operator stops the rollingprocess and then the operator intervenes to cut the wound mat from thelarger roll. The accumulator section allows the rest of the mat tocontinue traveling through the oven while the rolls of finished productare removed from the windup section and new cores are put in place. Theleading edge of the next section of the mat is then attached to newwindup cores and the operator actuates the accumulator to resume feedingthe slit rolls onto the cardboard cores.

Quality Control Equipment

Quality of finished product is maintained through an extensive processof inline and post quality control process steps including measuringloft and roll width utilizing a quality control fixture which measuresloft and roll width, through another fixture that cuts out single squarefoot samples, while another fixture is used to measure the compressivestrength of a square foot sample. Each square foot sample is weighed.Additionally the top and the bottom skin of a sample are removed and thescale is used to determine the percentage by weight of the skin on thetop surface the percentage by weight of the skin on the bottom surface.

Generally, in another aspect, a method of forming a fiberglass mat,having the steps of feeding a fiberglass media or mat between bowed (68)or straight (66) rollers of the roller assembly apparatus driven bydrive assemblies (74) for both upper and lower rollers that areseparately driven providing for a differential pressure across the matreducing weight variation across the web as it is fed into the curingoven but allowing for control of the density in a progressive manner,which is referenced in this aspect as expanding the mat. Bowed rollersare to optimize the stretch of the fiber mat to apply water to the mat.Weight variation is improved from +/−20% to +/−5% across the finishedexpanding mat, with consistent water content and an improved top andbottom skinning or surface formation.

In some embodiments the relative pattern of the glass fibers fed ontothe rotating drum is adjusted by the orientation of the bushing plate(28) and the orifices (36) thereby.

In another embodiment load cells (52) are utilized to decrease weightvariations of the fiberglass media as mat. Load cells (52) increaseaccuracy of the final weight over that of other techniques improvingproduct quality weight accuracy from +/−20%, to +/−5%.

In another embodiment applying water by water spray nozzles (50) onto aflat mat surface applies the water more consistently resulting in higherquality skins.

In other embodiments, water is applied to the binder as it is applied tothe fiberglass and/or is applied to the fiberglass mat as the binder isapplied to the fiberglass mat controlling the moisture to a targetedmoisture level plus or minus 2.5%.

In another embodiment binder species temperature range is controlled to70 degrees Fahrenheit + or −10%.

All systems are controlled and configured with a software programintegrally operating upon a computer machine.

Since other modifications and changes varied to fit particular operatingrequirements and environments will be apparent to those skilled in theart, the invention is not considered limited to the example chosen forpurposes of disclosure, and covers all changes and modifications whichdo not constitute departures from the true spirit and scope of thisinvention. For instance there are embodiments that include only straightrollers for expansion of the fiber mat, and some where water fog nozzlesprays water on the rollers, and in other cases a water spray head wetsthe rotating drum prior to wrap the fiberglass on the rotating drum.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for use in fiberglass manufacturing,comprising: a traversing melting furnace configured to maintain aminimum level of glass during operation; a rotatable drum positionedbelow the melting furnace; one or more spray nozzles positionedproximate to the rotatable drum; a let-off table assembly comprising atable, a first heat source configured to apply heat from directly belowthe table, and a second heat source configured to apply heat fromdirectly above the table; a curing oven proximate to the let-off tableassembly, the curing oven comprising a first chamber and a secondchamber; an upper chain conveyor disposed within the first chamber; alower chain conveyor disposed below the first chamber and the secondchamber.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the first chambercomprises a first heated zone; and the second chamber comprises a secondheated zone.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein: the upper chainconveyor moves at a first speed; and the lower chain conveyor moves at asecond speed which is different from the first speed.
 4. The apparatusof claim 2, further comprising one or more sprayers operativelyconnected to the curing oven and proximate to the first chamber.
 5. Theapparatus of claim 1, further comprising: one or more temperaturesensors; one or more air flow sensors; and a computer communicativelycoupled to the one or more temperature sensors, the one or more air flowsensors, the upper chain conveyor, and the lower chain conveyor.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein a flame within the traversing meltingfurnace is controlled by a feedback loop from a flame temperaturesensor.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the traversing meltingfurnace comprises a bushing plate; and the bushing plate comprises aplurality of orifices disposed in a substantially rectangular pattern.8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the plurality of orifices iscentered above a horizontal edge of the rotatable drum.
 9. The apparatusof claim 7, further comprising one or more shields extending below thebushing plate.
 10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein: the traversingmelting furnace is configured to move in a first direction parallel toan axis of the rotatable drum; and the bushing plate is oriented at a6-degree angle relative to the first direction.
 11. The apparatus ofclaim 10, wherein the one or more spray nozzles comprises: a water spraynozzle configured to spray water onto a swath of fiberglass on therotatable drum; and a resin spray nozzle configured to spray resin ontothe swath of fiberglass.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein theresin spray nozzle is configured to spray resin in a width of between 4inches and a width of the swath.
 13. The apparatus of claim 11,comprising: a storage tank containing resin; a dispensing tank fluidlycoupled to the storage tank and the resin spray nozzle; and atemperature control assembly configured to control a temperature of thedispensing tank.
 14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the bushingplate comprises 298 to 425 orifices arranged in 7 to 10 rows.
 15. Theapparatus of claim 1, further comprising a bushing cooling loop assemblypositioned below the melting furnace.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15,wherein the bushing cooling loop assembly comprises: a plurality ofcoils comprised of tubing containing water; and a coil comprised ofperforated tubing containing air.
 17. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe one or more spray nozzles are rigidly coupled to the traversingmelting furnace.
 18. The apparatus of claim 1, comprising: a load cellcoupled to the rotatable drum; and a control computer configured tocontrol a speed of the traversing melting furnace and a rotational speedof the rotatable drum.
 19. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprisinga roller assembly operatively coupled to the rotatable drum, wherein theroller assembly comprises one or more rollers.
 20. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the roller assembly comprises a plurality of bowedrollers.
 21. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a pumpingassembly comprising: one or more top rollers; one or more bottomrollers; a first pump; one or more bottom spray heads fluidly coupled tothe first pump; a second pump; and one or more top spray heads fluidlycoupled to the second pump.
 22. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thetraversing melting furnace is configured to receive recycled glasscullet.
 23. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a glasshopper; a stationary glass feeder mounted below the glass hopper; avibrator coupled to the stationary glass feeder; a chute coupled to thetraversing melting furnace; and wherein the glass hopper and thestationary glass feeder are configured to provide glass to the chute.24. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first heat source comprises agas burner; and the second heat source comprises a radiant heater. 25.An apparatus for use in fiberglass manufacturing, comprising: atraversing melting furnace comprising a bushing plate; wherein thebushing plate comprises a plurality of countersunk orifices; a rotatabledrum positioned below the bushing plate; one or more spray nozzlescoupled to the traversing melting furnace and positioned proximate tothe rotatable drum; a let-off table assembly comprising a table, a firstheat source configured to apply heat from directly below the table, anda second heat source configured to apply heat from directly above thetable; and a curing oven proximate to the let-off table assembly, thecuring oven comprising a first chamber and a second chamber.